1. The webinar will start promptly at 3:45pm on Thursday 16 May 2019.
Welcome to ‘Introduction to the draft English as an Additional Language Curriculum’
The webinar will start
promptly at 3:45pm on Thursday 16 May 2019.

2. English as an Additional Language
Draft Curriculum for familiarisation and feedback
VicTESOL Presenters: Anne Keary, Mark Melican, Shem Macdonald
VCAA: Craig Smith

3. Acknowledgement
We would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land(s) we meet on or are in today, and pay our respects to elders past and present. This year is the United Nations Year of Indigenous Languages and we would also like to acknowledge the rich lessons that we as educators can learn from Aboriginal peoples who have created and maintained a link through language that has lasted for tens of thousands of years.

4. Session overview Continuities and innovations in Draft EAL Curriculum
The purpose and nature of an EAL curriculum
Rationale & Aims
Structure
Pathways & levels
Language modes,
Language strands & sub-strands
Content descriptions
Achievement standards
Glossary
Resources
Feedback
Questions

5. Continuities and innovations. The draft EAL curriculum…
Builds on existing strengths of previous frameworks (AusVELS EAL and precursors)
Establishes EAL as a distinct learning area supporting learning across the curriculum, not as a ‘companion’ to English
Makes explicit the context of EAL – immersion in English medium education
Provides three points of entry to immersion in English language education, Early, Mid and Late
Acknowledges the prior learning in L1(including informal learning, L1 literacy and experience of formal schooling)
Draws on more recent understandings of second language learning – especially acknowledgment of L1 knowledge and skills relating to L2 learning and development and the development of plurilingual competences
Resembles other learning area curricula in the Victorian curriculum
Is designed to be accessible and useable for mainstream teachers, with clear language and a glossary.
The features of this curriculum are:
Continuity - building on what has gone before - For example, the three pathways.
1, 2, & 6
Innovation / New directions
Curriculum in its own right, not as a companion to the English curriculum
based on what we now know about how EAL students learn
New diagnostic tool – assists with placing students
The notion of plurilingualism

6. Purpose and nature of this EAL curriculum
Identification of teaching and learning content for EAL learning area
Reflects development of EAL proficiency in context of formal learning / immersion in English in Australian schools
Multiple and varied entry points, depending on prior experience and learning, age when entering schooling in Victoria
Stand alone curriculum, but has connections to other curriculum areas – English and Languages
Accessible to all teachers – non EAL specialists, EAL specialists and school leaders

7. EAL Curriculum – Draft documents
Table of contents
Rationale and aims
Structure
Pathways
Language Modes
Strands
Achievement Standards
Learning in EAL
Relationship to other curriculum areas
EAL: Pathways and Levels A, B & C
Glossary
Other resources
Diagnostic interview and notes,
Guidelines for administration and interpretation
Samples of learner progressions through the pathways
Pathways (previously Bands of schooling - A = lower primary F-2, B = upper primary 3-6, secondary S = 7-10 )
Levels (previously Stages)
Language Modes (previously Standards)
Strands
Content descriptions
Achievement Standards (previously the descriptions of the Standards)

8. Rationale EAL students: The EAL Curriculum
come with diverse backgrounds and varied prior learning experiences
are being immersed in English medium education, which can happen early, mid or late
The EAL Curriculum
is the learning EAL students need to access across all curriculum areas
develops the plurilingual awareness and strategies
builds on existing resources,
Teachers from all curriculum areas
have a responsibility for teaching the language demands of their curriculum area.
To speed up, improve and enhance the process that learners are going through as they move into using English as their primary language of learning.
We are drawing on our knowledge of EAL and of EAL learners to help them to do this in the most effective and efficient way (Alan Williams, 2019)

9. Aims The EAL curriculum aims to ensure that EAL students:
access the full breadth of learning opportunities available in the Victorian Curriculum F–10, including all learning areas and capabilities
develop their understanding of how Standard Australian English (SAE) works in its spoken and written forms, including how its linguistic structures and features can be used to create meaning in a range of spoken, written, visual and multimodal contexts
learn to listen to, read, view, speak, write, create and/or reflect on increasingly complex and sophisticated texts, with accuracy, fluency and purpose, across a range of contexts
develop their communicative skills, linguistic knowledge and cultural understandings in English and their other languages, to enable their full participation in Australian society
develop their plurilingual awareness of the ways they use different languages and the roles of these languages in their lives and identities.
Access to learning
Australian English
Complex and varied texts
Communication skills for participation
Plurilingual awareness and identities

10. Structure Pathways and levels Language modes • Reading and Viewing
• Writing
• Speaking and listening
Strands & sub-strands
• Communication
• Cultural and Plurilingual awareness
• Linguistic structures and features
Content descriptions
Achievement standards

11. Structure Pathways A, B or C Levels e.g. BL B1 B2 B3 Reading & viewing
Com
CPA
LSF
Writing
Speaking & listening
Structure
Pathways
Levels
Languagemodes
We have created this diagram to highlight the hierarchy of the elements within the structure of the Curriculum
Strands
(& sub-strands)
Communication
Cultural & plurilingual awareness
Linguistic structures and features

12. Pathways and Levels

13. Relationship with other learning areas
Impact of language intensity of different learning (topics, learning areas) on levels of EAL learner achievement
Curriculum areas that have been identified as requiring higher levels of English language intensity for students to access.

14. Language modes Reading & viewing Writing Speaking & listening
understanding, interpreting, critically analysing, reflecting upon, and enjoying written and visual, print and digital texts.
a wide range of texts and media, including informative and persuasive texts.
development of knowledge about the relationship between texts and the contexts in which they are created.
development of knowledge about a range of strategies for reading.
Writing
active process of conceiving, planning, creating, producing, editing and publishing a range of texts.
using appropriate language for particular purposes, both formal and informal.
development of knowledge about strategies for writing and the conventions of SAE.
development of metalanguage to discuss language conventions and use.
Speaking & listening
various formal and informal ways spoken language is used to convey and receive meaning.
development of knowledge about the appropriate spoken language for particular audiences and occasions.
elements of presentation such as body language and use of voice.
the development of aural skills such as active-listening strategies.

15. Language strands & sub-strands
Communication
Cultural & plurilingual awareness
Cultural understandings
Plurilingual (awareness &) strategies
Linguistic structures & features
Text structure and organisation
Grammatical patterns
Word knowledge
Grapho-phonics / phonology

16. Content descriptions and Achievement standards
Presented by Pathway and Level
Identify intended content to be taught in each language mode and strand
Achievement standards in each language mode and strand

17. Content descriptions Level Language mode Strands Content Descriptions:
Skills / actions that are teachable
Layout of content descriptions

18. Content descriptions Example: Communication
write learned phrases and complete short cloze activities around familiar language
Cultural and plurilingual awareness
choose accessible yet challenging texts for themselves to read and enjoy
Linguistic structures and features
understand the tense of statements or instructions, mostly through time references, such as ‘We went yesterday’, ‘Tomorrow we will go’, ‘Now we can eat lunch.’
Detail of content descriptions
Examples of plurilingual awareness (taken from the EAL curriculum) could be:
developing vocabulary and phrase lists with first language translations, or pronunciation guides
drawing on first language resources to communicate more complex ideas.
For classroom teachers who are not trained in EAL this could represent a shift in thinking about the use of other languages in their classroom, from disallowing or discouraging use of other languages, to making connections between languages to support students’ learning of content and English language and purposeful use of students’ other languages.

19. Content descriptions: Pathway B, Levels BL, B1, B2, B3
Some Strands (Cultural & plurilingual awareness and Linguistic structures & features) have sub-strands

20. Strand: Cultural & plurilingual awareness
‘Plurilingual awareness’ refers to understanding that people can use knowledge of more than one language to learn and communicate. It involves understanding that all languages spoken or used by a person form a repertoire that can be drawn upon, rather than seeing proficiency in one language as having no impact on capacity to learn another. *
Example of plurilingual strategy (from B2 Writing)
Plan before writing: discuss ideas and topics in L1 or English, or write notes in a framework
* from DET PPT slide on FUSE

21. Sample achievement standards: Pathway B, BL, B1, B2 and B3 Writing
Achievement Standards drawn largely from AusVELS EAL standards statements

22. Glossary EAL terminology explained for non EAL specialists
Some items are identical to glossary for English curriculum

23. Resources: Diagnostic interview and Guidelines for administration and interpretation
An entry interview to elicit information about EAL students’ backgrounds and prior learning
Used to make an initial judgement about which Pathway and Level to place an EAL student
Questions about:
Experience of school in country of origin
Capacities in first language (reading and writing)
Prior learning and use of English, including in country of origin and Australia
Previous experience of school in Australia
Helpful tool, guide

24. Additional resources
On FUSE website
David Howes, CEO of VCAA (video)
Alan Williams, one of the curriculum writers (video & ppt)
DET Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL: becoming familiar with draft (incl. case studies) (ppt)

25. Sector reporting advice
For schools
Sector reporting advice
In 2019, schools have the option to trial the draft curriculum or to continue to use the EAL Companion to AusVELS for curriculum advice.
In 2019, schools should continue to assess and report the progress of EAL learners against the EAL standards outlined in both the EAL Companion to AusVELS and the EAL Developmental Continuum. These standards are closely aligned with the standards of the draft curriculum.
Each sector will develop and publish further advice about assessment and reporting for 2020, after the curriculum is finalised. For government schools, see

26. Feedback process VCAA website - Online form
Feedback open until 29 August 2019
Final version to be added and released on Victorian Curriculum F−10 website December 2019
Full implementation envisaged from Term 1, 2020

27. Your questions and responses

28. Curriculum support
For advice regarding the F-10 curriculum, contact VCAA F-10 Unit: E. T